


Girls Chase Boys

by Socially_Awkward_Dragon



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: AU - Alternative Universe, Adoption, Bruce pushing the cradle robbing thing, Bucky is also an asshole, Bucky’s the best godfather ever, Darcy has no shame, F/M, Hot Professor, M/M, Off Screen Death, SCIENCEBROS FTW, Slow Build, Steve has massive self-image issues, Steve is an old fart who can’t use technology, Teenage Tony, Tony drama, age kink, no powers, teenage natasha
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-29
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2019-12-26 00:26:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18272099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Socially_Awkward_Dragon/pseuds/Socially_Awkward_Dragon
Summary: CPT. Steven Rogers, Army Ret. just wants a quiet life.He's an art professor, and trying to do his best to raise his two kids after his wife's death. He has no time for nonsense such as romance and relationships. Between an adopted son who is going through what he is sure is the worst teenage drama queen stage in the state, and a daughter who is determined to get out of their little town as fast as possible, he has his hands full. But he can't get the sexy brunette that helped him fix his computer out of his head. Maybe he's not too old to fall in love again after all?





	1. Alpha

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Captain America, Darcy Lewis, the Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D. Or anything owned by Marvel, Disney, Stan Lee, or anything else that might be out there.
> 
> There is no excuse. Enjoy. And don't yell at me for taking artistic license with tech. Some days I can barely get my phone to work. Let's just say Steve is a lot more violent with his tech than most.

He barely touched the damned thing.

He had forgotten to turn the projector off after his last class, which was good because he hated dealing with the it, so when he connected his computer to it, he hadn't given it a thought. The shower of sparks that the projector threw off and the loud _BANG_ as soon as he touched it to pull up his notes had him throwing the laptop behind his desk and hitting the deck. Six years as a civilian did little to dull twenty years of special operations training. When there wasn't an explosion and he could convince himself that the classroom was not going to crumble around them, he slowly picked himself off the floor, stifling a groan as his body protested the fall. Standing, he cautiously peered over the desk, eyeing the machine with a wary eye.

“Is everyone alright?” he asked, turning to face his students, who were picking themselves off the floor as well. Nervous chatter answered him as they assured him and themselves they were okay. “I think that's been enough excitement for one day,” he said, still eyeing the wrecked computer suspiciously. “We can continue the lecture next week. Just make sure you read the chapters assigned in the syllabus and we'll go through it Monday.” He gave them a sheepish smile. “I might not be able to check email for a couple of days, but my phone number is on the syllabus if you have any questions. Go on, dismissed.”

There was the typical clatter and noise as the lecture hall cleared, the students unable to contain themselves about their “near-death experience.” There were several electronic pings! as phones were whipped out and they started posting about the malfunction on Facebook and Twitter and whatever other social networking sites were popular right now. Before long, he was left alone in the room, glaring at the computer.

One would think, that after twenty years in the army, he would be able to operate a simple projector without it blowing up. Steve Rogers considered himself a fairly intelligent man, But evidence to the contrary was staring him in the face. He sighed and rubbed his hands over his face, sighing before picking up his ridiculously high tech phone. The only reason he had the damn thing was because his son told him only old people used flip phones anymore and had snatched the phone he had been looking at at the phone store and handed him a sleek little piece of plastic and glass that he was half-convinced, even six months later, was going to shatter in his grip. But Tony had refused to let his father leave the store with the “abomination” and so Steve Rogers found himself with a smart phone. He smiled at the background picture, his son and daughter with their faces squished together, sticking their tongues out at the camera, before opening his contacts and scrolling through, trying to find the number of the maintenance department. Just as he found the number, the phone started buzzing and “Big Poppa” blared from the speakers. Steve rolled his eyes and tapped the screen.

“STEVE, WHAT DID YOU DO?!” Tony screamed into the phone, loud enough that Steve had to jerk the phone away from his ear. At eighteen, Tony was a full-fledged drama queen, complete with a why-does-the-world-hate-me attitude and loud rock music. Steve had adopted him when his parents, some of Steve's best friends, had died in a horrible plane accident when Tony was ten. Tony had no other family, and it was the Starks' wish that Steve and his wife care for him. Of course, they had had a rough time at first. Tony was a certified genius and the Rogers, Steve a career soldier and Peggy a M6 operative on permanent loan to the CIA, hadn't been quite sure how to handle him. It had actually been Natasha, their seven year old daughter, who had been able to reach him. Steve could still remember the first time Tony had joined them at the breakfast table, a month after he came to live with them, physically dragged into the room and shoved into the chair by the redhead with pigtails and a scowl on her pretty face. The two had been inseparable ever since.

But that was something to think about later. For now, he had to deal with the meltdown on the other end of the phone.

“Tony, calm down,” he said as calmly as he could, wedging the phone in the crook of his shoulder as he turned back to the overturned table and projector that had stopped smoking. Carefully, he edged around the table and poked at the machine with the edge of his shoe. When it didn't explode, he breathed a sigh of relief and picked up the laptop he had thrown on reflex. “No one is hurt, it was just a computer malfunction. But I think my laptop is broken. I threw it and the screen is shattered. I’m sure you can fix it.”

“Steve.” He could practically feel the eye-roll from the other side of the phone and smiled at Tony's drama. “I saw the video, the thing practically blew up.” Tony started in telling an elaborate story about how he had heard about the projector incident when Steve's attention was caught by door opening at the top of the stairs in the lecture hall. A woman walked in and skipped down the stairs, pausing a few feet away from him. He raised an eyebrow at her, but she merely smiled mysteriously and cocked a hip against his desk, obviously waiting for him to be done with his call.

“Hey, Tony, someone just came in, I've got to go. You can finish your rant when I get home.” He hung up before Tony could start another rant and turned to face his visitor. She was very young and pretty, a curvy brunette in a mint green skirt and cream lace heels, a halter top the same cream as her shoes peeking through a black leather jacket. A black leather cord strung with a medieval looking hammer and sparkly blue earrings were at odds with her worn burlap messenger bag covered in nerdy patches slung over her shoulder and the open-topped toolbox filled with cables and tools she held in her right hand. She gave him a smile and stepped forward to offer her hand.

“I saw the video,” she said before he could ask why she was there. “I figured I should head over here and see what I could do. Darcy Lewis, I.T. Extraordinaire.”

“Oh, nice to meet you. I'm Professor Rog...Steve, I mean. Just Steve.” Steve scolded himself for stumbling over his words. He was forty-four years old, likely old enough to be her father for fucks sake. He had no business being attracted to this woman who was, for all intents and purposes, coming to his rescue. Giving himself a shake, he tried again, this time leading with a chagrined smile and gesturing to the shattered computer. “Sorry, not a fan of things that suddenly go boom. I'm not even sure what happened, it just...well, exploded for lack of a better word.”

Her laughter rang through the hall, deep and bright. Steve found himself joining in her laughter.

“Well, Just Steve,” she laughed, poking the projector with the toe of her shoe. “I think its fair to say this thing is toast. I can take it back to my lair and try to fix it, but I think I’ll just go get you another one. That laptop took a heavy hit, hope you have insurance. You have everything backed up to the cloud, right?”

“Cloud? Ummm…” he felt himself blush, and wanted to jump out the window. Embarrassed by a simple question, really? “I think so? My son set it up, and he’s pretty tech savvy. I’m sure he did whatever it needed.”

“Oh? How old is he? Is he wanting to be an artist as well?” She bent to pick up the broken projector and Steve found himself swallowing hard.

“He’s uh, he’s eighteen. He would rather spend all his time in the garage tinkering with his gadgets and computers than pick up a brush.” He spread his hands and shrugged. He reached to take the broken computer from her and flinched when her hand brushed against his. Clearing his throat, he shoved the thing back in its case and fiddled with the zippers. “He uh, he was calling me when you came in.”

“Oh, I thought maybe it was a boyfriend,” she said, laughing. “In my experience, that tone of voice is used with an annoying lover.”

“Or to an overly-dramatic child,” he said quickly, nervously laughing. “So no, not a boyfriend. I’m straight, I promise.”

“My mistake.” She picked up her toolbox, tucked the projector under her arm and extended her hand for a handshake.”See you around, Just Steve.”

And then she was gone, flitting out of the room like she had entered. Steve found himself leaning against his desk, slightly flushed. What a girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a couple notes. I know Steve felt a little OOC in this chapter, but I promise that will go away soon. Darcy is still going to be the smart mouth she always is and Steve will be his sarcastic ass self soon. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!


	2. Beta

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beer, tasers and robot overlords.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, chapter two! I’m so thankful to everyone who bookmarked and left kudos on chapter one! I appreciate all the support, this story has been banging around in my brain for a while. I’m shooting for updating every Friday, but I’m not promising anything, because I tend to write at work and sometimes my schedule just doesn’t give me time. But once every week or week and a half is what I’m going to try to stick to! I hope you enjoy chapter two!

As soon as Steve walked into the bar, Bucky shoved a beer in his hand. He quickly downed half of it before joining his friend at the table. Happy’s was a dive really, crap lighting, the same twenty songs on the jukebox for the last decade and mismatched furniture. But it was never too busy, the beer was cold and no one bothered each other. Which made it a good bar in Steve’s opinion.

“Heard about the big explosion yesterday,” Bucky said as he retrieved his own beer. “The video of you throwing that laptop is going viral.”

“Great, what does that mean?” Steve asked. Tony had something to that effect when he appeared this morning, blearly eyed and barely stopping to grab a bagel before running out the door to morning classes. Steve hadn’t been able to catch him to get him to explain. He had been hoping to get Natasha to explain, but his daughter had slipped by him with a muttered, “just google yourself” before she had disappeared as well. It was on days like this that he regretted the three of them being so busy. He couldn’t remember the last time they had had a moment as a family without computers or gadgets or life threatening teenage drama. God, he missed Peggy.

Suddenly melancholy, he returned to his beer and focused on Bucky. His friend was watching him with a mischief in his eyes that decades of experience had Steve looking for the door. Bucky getting a crazy idea in his head had led to some adventures in their time, including meeting his wife on a half-cracked party crashing, but it had also landed them in jail for drunk and disorderly and in the hospital with a broken leg on one particularly crazy weekend that ended with him jumping out of a car before it hit a barrier.

“Bucky, no,” he said firmly, resisting the urge to look over his shoulder to see what Bucky was watching. “A quiet night at the bar, a few drinks and a couple rounds of pool. You promised.”

“Its not for me, Stevie,” Bucky replied, grinning. “You’ll never guess who just walked in.”

Steve turned in his seat, looking over towards the bar. He almost choked on his beer when he saw the man standing at the bar with two women.

Thor Odinson was just as tall and muscle bound as always, though his hair had grown out since their army days. The Norwegian national recognized them as Steve tried to clean himself and waved them over.

“Stephen! Barnes! My brothers!” The giant of a man roared when they approached, pulled them both into a bone crushing hug. “It has been many years since we have drunk together!”

“Hey Thor, how you doing buddy?” Bucky managed to wheeze out when Thor let them go. He shook himself and grinned. “Care to introduce us to your friends?”

“This is Dr. Jane Foster, my betrothed!” Thor pronounced happily, drawing the blonde to his side. She was small and quiet compared to her fiancé, but her grip was strong and sure. Steve liked her immediately.

“And this is my shield sister, Darcy Lewis! She has bested me in combat with her lightning box!”

“I’m not sure a knee-jerk tasing of a guy right after I hit him with my car counts as besting in combat,” the woman standing behind Thor laughed. She stepped around the giant to offer her hand to Steve and Bucky. “Oh, hello again, Just Steve.”

Steve felt like he had been kicked in the gut. Of course, the first woman he had been attracted to since Peggy’s death was basically the sister of one of his best friends. She was dressed quite differently than the day before, the same black jacket, but her shirt was well loved, royal blue with a faded Superman logo on the front and dark blue jeans that hugged her hips and legs in a way that made Steve wonder just how she managed to get them on. Quickly, he regained his composure and shook her hand.

“Small world,” he said lightly. “You hit Thor with your car?”

“He hit my car with his body!” Darcy said indignantly, hands on her hips, glaring at Thor. He merely roared with laughter in memory.

“Thor had been out drinking and stumbled into the road. Darcy swerved to avoid him, but he still kinda…bounced off.” Jane explained, trying to contain her laughter. Clearly, this was a frequently debated topic.

“And then he jumped up while we were trying to make sure he was alive, and it scared me so I tased him,” Darcy said, glaring at Thor. “He’s lucky I didn’t know self defense back then.”

“My shield sister is a mighty warrior!” Thor agreed, passing her a new beer. Steve held up two fingers when he caught the bartender’s eye. He had a feeling he was going to need more alcohol. “She has been training in the combat of the Maga of Krav, very nearly put my brother on his back last week.”

“Oh, Krav Maga?” Bucky asked, perking up. “Steve’s daughter has been taking lessons at a dojo downtown. She’s pretty good.”

“She’s getting there,” Steve agreed, passing Bucky a new beer. “She broke a table last week trying to show us a new move. Sent Tony flying.”

“Natasha grows into a mighty warrior, like her mother!” Thor roared. He had adored Peggy, who had put him on his back the first time they had sparred and had managed to go shot for shot with him at their wedding. Steve had had to carry Peggy to their hotel room, but they had had to leave Thor on the first floor.

Eventually, Thor took Jane off to play a game of pool and Bucky, after winking at Steve and making a shooing motion at Darcy behind her back, had deserted him to hit on a leggy redhead at the bar. Steve fiddled with his bottle, unsure how to keep the conversation going. He had never been good at making small talk and flirting. When they were young, and first joined the Army, Bucky had dragged him to a million bars and clubs, introduced him to a thousand girls and he had never managed to go further than a few drinks, too awkward and prone to talking about battle plans or how to set up the perfect ambush, complete with glasses and condiments for visuals. Peggy had asked him out on a date when they first met, and then she had never really left, flitting in and out of his life until he finally asked her to marry him in the middle of a special ops mission after he was shot. He had never done anything like this.

“So you’re married?” Darcy asked suddenly, eyeing him over the rim of her glass. He shook his head once.  
“No, widowed. My wife passed four years ago.” He swallowed around the tightening in his throat. Had it really been four years? “An accident.”

“I’m sorry,” she said softly. He waved it off. Way to bring the mood down, Stevie. “And your kids? You said you had a son yesterday?”

“Yeah, Tony,” he grinned, always happy to talk about his kids. “He’s eighteen going on twelve, total drama queen, but he’s a genius. He’s going to MIT, about to graduate. Top of his class, but he has no idea what he is going to do with himself afterwards.”

“I thought all those fancy, smart alecks got crazy offers after college,” she remarked, snagging a bottle of whiskey from behind the bar and filling her glass. The bartender glared at her, but she blew him a kiss and slapped her card on the bar.

“They do, but its winnowing down where he should go after that’s the problem. He has too many interests, and too many working prototypes to narrow it down. Eventually he’ll settle on something, but for now he’s trying to take 10 years off my life by blowing up the basement every weekend.” He ran a hand through his hair and laughed. “Last weekend he decided he could make the Roomba even better and tried to attach some kind of fancy battery and AI on it so he could control it better. The thing tried to take the supply closet hostage.”

Darcy burst out laughing, nearly spilling her drink in her laughter. “What happened to it? Is it still reigning over the cleaning supplies?”

“Well, in an attempt to get rid of the thing before I got home, Natasha tried out some of her new moves on the thing and between inexperience and the AI being pretty smart, the door is now broken, she has a sprained ankle and I now have to go out and buy new cleaning supplies until Tony can write a translation to figure out what the Roomba’s demands are.”

“What could a Roomba possibly demand?” Darcy asked, laughing even hard. Steve found himself laughing just as hard. 

“More dust bunnies to clean?”

They were still laughing together, Steve telling her other stories about Tony’s inventions and Darcy sharing her adventures with Thor when Bucky returned to the bar.

“Hate to break up the party, but Sam just called, Redwing is in trouble, he’s taking her to the vet, Sharon is out of town and he needs someone to stay with the baby. I told him we’d be there in a few.”

“Shit, okay. Get the car and I’ll pay the tab.” Steve stood up, patting his pockets down to find his wallet and threw some bills on the bar. “Sorry, about rushing off.”

Darcy waved him off and grabbed his phone from his hand. She fiddled with it for a moment before handing it back to him. “Call me sometime. I need to make sure your Roomba isn’t starting a robot uprising.” She grabbed her drink and headed over to talk to Jane and Thor at the pool tables, but before he walked out the door, Steve caught her looking over her shoulder at him. He waved a little and allowed himself to be dragged out the door.

Once they were on the road in Bucky’s shitty Jeep that he refused to get rid of, Steve pulled his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through his contacts. He laughed when he saw his most recent entry.

_Darcy Robot Sympathizer_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I need to a beta, does anyone want the job? It pays nothing and I never stay on task, but I’m funny!


End file.
